


Date Night

by dreamalittledreamofme



Category: RWBY
Genre: Dancing, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, just pure fluff yall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:00:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22735240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamalittledreamofme/pseuds/dreamalittledreamofme
Summary: Qrow paces about his room, twisting his rings anxiously around his fingers.Clover had asked him out on a date. And he had accepted. Oh god, he had accepted. Why did he accept?
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 145





	Date Night

**Author's Note:**

> This was a Valentine's present to Guren on the discord! Hope y'all have had a good valentines day.

Qrow paces about his room, twisting his rings anxiously around his fingers.

Clover had asked him out on a date. And he had accepted. Oh god, he had accepted. Why did he accept?

Well, he tries reasoning with himself, Clover is very attractive, and he’s funny, and a great huntsman. And he’s attractive. Did Qrow already mention that?

And the man had an obvious interest in him. Between the flirting and the looks, even Ruby could tell.

His niece pops into his mind. He could text Ruby, maybe she and Yang could help him out. Qrow shakes his head. Help out with what? He’s a grown adult going on a date, as adults usually do. They were probably still out on a mission anyway, trying to get Amity Communications up, helping out Mantle, helping prepare for the upcoming disasters. 

He sits down and places his head in his hands. No, they did not need their mess of an uncle distracting them from doing work. Gods, he’s forty years old, grew up in a violent tribe, has been fighting Grimm for years, and he’s stumped at the thought of going on a date with an attractive man. 

Suddenly, there's a knock on the door. Qrow looks at his scroll, panicked, then sighs when he realizes he has another hour before Clover comes to pick him up.

Ruby greets him at the door. Speak and she shall appear.

“Uncle Qrow! We wanted to know if you wanted to play some games with us!” 

“I still need to pay you back from last time!” He pokes his head out the door, seeing the rest of team RWBY further down the hall, Yang looking ready to fight, despite only wanting to play video games.

“Uh, sorry kiddos, but I’m going to be a bit busy tonight.”

“Oh yeah? With what?”

“Well-”

He gets cut off by Yang, “You’re just too scared to lose!”

“Hey, do you remember who won the past five times?” The blonde pouts and looks away. Her face gets softer as her girlfriend puts a hand on her shoulder. “Before I was so rudely interrupted,” he side-eyes Yang, “I actually have a, uh well, I have a date.”

He rubs the back of his head, sheepish, before looking at Ruby. It looks like he just told her the best news of her life as her eyes shine brightly and her grin widens.

“UNCLE QROW! YOU HAVE A DATE?”

“Whoa, whoa. Don’t announce it to the whole world.” He looks around, seeing no one except the team, who was getting closer, but now stands frozen in the hallway. Soon, their faces morph into wide grins too.

“Wait wait wait. Is it Clover?” Qrow doesn’t respond, but the blush on his face gives them the answer anyway.

“Finally,” Weiss exclaims. This makes his blush grow deeper. Even the ice princess noticed them, meaning no doubt the ice queen did too. “What are you going to wear?”

“This?” He’s still in his huntsman clothes, a bit dirtied from the mission earlier.

She rolls her eyes, “You can not wear that on a date.”

Finally, Blake speaks up, “Where are you going?”

“A club. To dance.” Unprepared for the questions, he can only answer in short sentences.

Ruby gives him a look, no doubt having the same worries he is. Weiss keeps going before either of them can say anything.

“Then you absolutely can not wear that on this date. We’re in Atlas now, even the clubs are filled with-”

“Snobs and elitists?”

“Yes, snobs and elitists.” Qrow knows that if he said that to Weiss back at Beacon, she would have ranted his ear off. A part of him feels proud she’s come so far. “But this is a date, so you need to look good.”

“Don’t I look good enough?” He tries to give them a charming smile. Silence fills the room. Blake refuses to look him in the eye and the rest have painful expressions on their faces. “I take offense to that.”

Yang rolls her eyes before barging past him into his room. She goes to his dresser and starts taking out random pieces of clothes. Weiss and Blake follow her to help.

“Uncle Qrow.” The man looks back and sees his niece’s face has hardened. 

“I know Ruby. But I promise I’m going to be okay. I won’t even go near the bar. I’m going to be fine.” He doesn’t know that for sure, but he doesn’t want her to be worrying about him all night. She shouldn’t have to worry about him. Qrow wants her to have a break from all the stress too.

“Pinky promise?” It’s a silly thing they did in her childhood. Qrow would always promise not to tell Tai something bad they did or promise that he would see her again when he leaves for missions. It definitely seems silly now, after everything they’ve been through. But a pinky promise is something the man has never broken.

“Pinky promise.” She sighs, relieved, before hip-checking him out of the way to get to her team. Who has by now, taken out all his clothes and laid them down on the bed.

Qrow looks at the girls fondly. He’s only known two of them for a short while, but he’s incredibly impressed with how far they have come from Beacon. Becoming a huntress isn’t easy, and they certainly haven’t had a smooth ride. Still, the love and hope they have for the world are inspiring. He can’t wait to see them become more experienced huntresses.

“Are you telling me you have multiple versions of your horrible, torn cape?” Weiss asks.

But first, he needs to stop them from ransacking his entire apartment.

\-------

An hour later, team RWBY sits on the couch, conversing and poking fun at each other. Qrow comes out of the bathroom, buttoning the last button on his shirt.

“I think this is it.” He wears a dark grey button-up, sleeves rolled up at the elbows and a red vest on top. It’s not too different from the clothes he usually wears, but it’s more formal. He doesn’t think he looks too bad.

“Well-” Weiss tries to say.

“No. This is it. This is the tenth outfit you’ve made me try on. I refuse to try anything else.” He didn’t even know he owned that many clothes. They’ve only been in Atlas for two months. It’s the longest he’s stayed in one place since, well since Summer passed. Atlas is starting to feel more like home than Qrow realizes. He doesn’t know what to do with that realization.

Weiss rolls her eyes. She seems to do that a lot around him. “Then at least tuck your shirt in. And put on a tie.” 

She starts whispering to herself. He can only faintly hear her say, ‘lucky he likes you.’

“No, you should leave a couple of buttons open. You know, to keep him...interested.” Yang says. The suggestiveness of the comment escapes no one, especially not Ruby.

“Gross! I do not want to hear that about our Uncle!”

“It’s a solid tactic.” Blake pipes up, thinking about her romance novels.

“Yeah, babe! Be on my side!” 

Ruby turns to Weiss quickly, begging for back up. The latter puts her head up high.

“This is Atlas, modesty is everything.”

“Weiss!”

Qrow backs out of the room slowly, retreating to his bedroom. If he leaves without them noticing, maybe he can catch Clover in the hallway. He did not want the man to hear this conversation. 

Just as he opens the window to jump, he hears a knock on the door. Shit shit shit. Clover was here. He rushes out of the room and sees Yang opening the door. “Uncle Clo-” Qrow pushes her away before she can say more.

“Hi.”

The man is bewildered, “uh, hi?”

“C’mon, time to go.” Qrow takes his hand, pulling him forward and away from his prying nieces.

“Don’t forget what I said! And I expect you to be back by midnight!” He can hear her calling from the door. He hopes they leave his room after this. One part because he doesn’t want them snooping in his stuff and another because he’s scared they will actually wait up till midnight.

Once he’s deemed it far enough, he slows down, letting Clover catch up next to him. It’s only then does he realize he’s still holding his hand. He quickly tries to take it back before Clover realizes. But the grip around his tightens and moves so their fingers are intertwined. Qrow faces the other way to hide the blush growing on his face.

“So, are you going to tell me what that was about?”

“Nothing. Just the kids being kids.”

“Uh-huh.” Clover looks like he doesn’t believe him at all, but ends the conversation.

The trek to the club is mostly quiet, save for a couple of quips here and there. They try to stay away from topics of work and talk more about family.

Qrow is midway into the story of Ruby and Yang pranking Tai so bad they got grounded when he sees they’ve made it. 

Suddenly, the realization that he’s on a date comes back to him. It has been many, many years since he’s been on a proper date. And even longer that he’s been so interested in someone. That, mixed with the fact that he will be surrounded by alcohol all night makes him much more nervous. A squeeze around his hand brings him out of his thoughts. Qrow smiles fondly at the other man, who gives him a soft smile back.

They head in. Loud, thumping music plays as soon as the door is opened. Tables line the left wall, while the bar is on the right. Further back lies the dance floor where blue, pink, and purple lights strobe. It makes everyone on the dance floor glow, and there are many, many people on the dance floor.

“Do you want anything to drink?” Clover asks.

“Uh, I don’t drink.” His reply comes out sheepish. He doesn’t want to ruin Clover’s night if he was planning on drinking.

The man looks at him, confused. “Qrow, you know this place doesn’t serve alcohol right?” Qrow stares dumbly back. “I wouldn’t bring you to a place surrounded by alcohol and drunk people. I mean, I trust you completely, but that would be an awful first date. I want this date to be about us and I want you to have fun and relax. We don’t get to do that often.”

He gives Clover a grateful smile, to which the man almost faints at the sight. He’s struck at how beautiful it is.

“How about one of those virgin pina coladas then?”

“Oh? I never fancied you as a sweet’s kind of guy.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, lucky charm.” Qrow winks at him and chuckles as Clover leaves quickly, blush evident on his face.

His chuckles die out and he begins to feel nervous again. He goes to sit down at one of the corner booths. Foot tapping to the beat of the music, he takes a look around at the people.

They are obviously Atlesian. Each one of them is dressed up in the nines. Dancing as if they don’t have a care in the world. As if they have never felt loss or heartbreak.

That’s unfair, he thinks. He used to be like that too. Maybe not all dressed up, but he came to clubs to feel freedom. To forget. He supposes it’s not too different from the people here now.

Qrow feels awkward here, doesn’t feel like he fits in. An obvious outsider.The bird partially thanks Weiss for making him change. But only partly. His pride is still hurt from apparently not being able to pull off half the clothes he owns.

“Hey, sweet stuff.” Looking up, he sees Clover at the end of the table, holding two drinks in his hands. He takes the drink, grateful for the chill of it. 

Silence surrounds the table. It’s companionable, if a little awkward, until, “So, do you come here often?” Qrow bursts out laughing, unable to hold it back. Unlucky for him, he had just taken a sip of his drink, causing him to choke. 

He covers his mouth with his hand, coughing, and feels a hand patting his back. Water in his eyes, he looks up to see Clover trying very hard not to smile.

“Don’t laugh at me!” He says indignantly.

That only makes Clover laugh harder. Qrow slaps his shoulder. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” The bird doesn’t believe him for a second. “But you are very cute.”

He sputters, unable to come up with a response. 

Clover stands up and stretches his arm out, “Would you care to dance with me?” His smile is charming. It alone almost sweeps Qrow off of his feet. He blushes, but carefully intertwines their hands. Clover pulls him along to the dance floor, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him close, before spinning him around.

There’s no pattern to how they dance. Both too lost in each other and the music to care how they look. At one point, Qrow steps on Clover’s feet. About to apologize, Qrow is instead picked up by his waist and twirled around. He laughs loudly, begging for the other man to put him down. His laugh is infectious. Clover giggles with him. He finally sets him down, keeping his arms around his waist. He softly lays his forehead against Qrow’s. The giggles die out as red eyes meet teal.

Their faces are so, so close. Qrow can feel Clover’s breath on his face. He can feel Clover moving closer, lips brushing his, but he stops as if letting Qrow have a moment to back out. But the bird is ever impatient and slams his lips onto his.

The kiss is electric. Music pulsing in the background and adrenaline pumping through their veins. But part of it feels like home. Like warmth. Maybe it wasn’t Atlas that has started to feel like home, but instead the person he’s holding now.

Suddenly, he slips, falling backward. Clover catches him, pulling him into a dip. Qrow can hear a wolf-whistle to his left. He stares into the teal eyes, staying in this position in complete silence, before both of them are giggling again. Clover kisses his forehead, then his cheeks and his nose, ending with a soft kiss on his lips.

He pulls Qrow up, “Want to get out of here?”

\-------

The walk back to his apartment is much quieter than the walk to the club. Still, though, their hands stay intertwined, as it’s been for most of the night. Qrow wants to raise his hand to his lips, to savor the feeling of Clover’s against his. But more importantly, he wants to keep kissing him.

They reach his door. Qrow goes to unlock it, only for him to be pulled back. Clover grabs his chin, pulling him into a deep kiss. He crowds Qrow against the door and the man melts.

“Today was fun,” Qrow says, out of breath.

“Hmm. It doesn’t have to end here.” Clover goes in for another kiss but Qrow slips out from under him.

“And here I thought you were a gentleman. Well, Ebi, don’t you know you don’t invite someone in on the first date?” Qrow’s smile is devilish, but the look of utter happiness in his eyes betrays his tone.

“I guess we’ll just have to go on another one.”

“I guess so.”

Qrow takes Clover’s head in his hands and kisses his cheek. The man closes his eyes, sighing deeply. The bird pulls away, unlocking the door and heading in. It seems like the girls didn’t wait up for him, thank goodness. He takes one last good look at Clover. Everything in him doesn’t want this night to end. But, he gets to look forward to doing this again. Possibly when the world isn’t descending into chaos.

Qrow can imagine going out to dinner. Conversations lasting all night and making jokes to see Clover’s beautiful smile. He can imagine more quiet walks home, enjoying the cool air around him and the warmth of his hand in another’s. He can see them cuddled in bed. They share soft kisses and words until they slowly fall asleep. Qrow imagines waking up in the mornings, nothing pressing to do, no missions to go on, still curled around the other man. He’s able to look at this man’s face, soft in the morning light, and kiss him all over to wake him up. Clover gives him a bright smile before hugging him closer and telling him to go back to sleep. 

Tonight though, he settles for a soft kiss and a promise of that future.

“Goodnight Ebi.” He steps inside and closes the door behind him.

Clover stares at it. Qrow leans against the other side. Both wonder how they got so lucky.

**Author's Note:**

> these two will be the death of me. My heart will explode from the sheer chemistry between them.
> 
> Anyway! Hope you enjoyed! Comments make me so very happy so please feel free to leave one!
> 
> My [Tumblr](https://poly-space-nerds.tumblr.com/)


End file.
